Monday, February 28, 2011

You might remember my Goals for 2011 included a renovation? The only thing I have done towards that goal is some research into what I would like to have in our house. Today I'd like to share some kitchens I came across recently:

I like the openness of this kitchen including that bifold window. I also like the blackboard.

I like the shaker-style cupboards, the crockery shelves & especially that mantle above the range.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

So I was browsing the aisles of my local large supermarket this afternoon when I noticed my heart skipped a beat everytime I saw a storage box. In my mind I was thinking a large storage box might help organise my sewing notions & gadgets, when I had a realisation..... you could have all the boxes, cupboards, storage containers, garages, utility rooms etc but you are never going to be organised if you don't actually put things away!

Herein lies my biggest hurdle. Putting stuff away seems to cause some kind of mental block, it's like the mental-too-hard-basket. I have a few of those baskets lying around the house. I presume psychologists or organisational experts would tell you that if you have decent storage then putting things away becomes easier... well, that's the theory. I have a small house considering there's 5 people living here (100sqm / 1076 sqf). Storage is at a premium and we don't have a garage or basement or decent utility room. I have many times thought about converting our roof space into attic storage but we have been also thinking about a proper second storey addition. I have even given a very brief thought to built-in wardrobes (I have been known to loathe them preferring our beautiful-to-look-at-but-not-as-practical-antique-wardrobes) One day.....

In the meantime, I really need to de-clutter our house. We are starting to get to the stage where we can start giving up the baby stuff, even though I'm not 100% convinced we are done with babies yet (hubby if you are reading this please don't have a coronary). I need to let go of those clothes that I might fit back in to one day.... maybe when I do they will be out of fashion!!

How do you organise your house? Have you got any clever storage solutions you would like to share?

Monday, February 21, 2011

So I've been waiting for a package of fabric to arrive from Hawthorne Threads. It's been 9 days since I placed the order and whilst I expect it usually takes about 10 days I still can't help anxiously waiting and hoping it gets here early. I'm planning on turning the following fabrics into some Nikki bags:

and I bought this additional fabric to go with the remainder of the "boy Central
Park" stash for my second baby boy quilt blogged here (if you look back at that post it's the left-hand pile not the orange/yellow pile):

Everyday, sometimes several times a day, I
go to USPS to track my parcel but it
hasn't been updated since the day it was sent! I don't know why they
even bother giving you a tracking number. Patience, patience..... in
the meantime I've got more projects bubbling around in my head planning my next Hawthorne Threads order. Today I was completely spontaneous and put in an order from Purl Soho (discounted Amy Butler oilcloth couldn't be passed up) so while I was already paying for flatrate postage I thought I might as well throw a few more fabrics into the envelope: Anna Maria Horner voile and Robert Kaufman flannel to be turned into a scarf and Sweet Honeycomb dots to use for binding the above quilt.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Here's my first finished quilt. It's a gift for my new great-nephew Elijah who is already 9 days old, finished in record time (6 days). Thanks to Oh Fransson for her great sandwiching and binding tutorials.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, the only thing I am disappointed with is how thin it is. I used Sew Easy Bamboo Batting because it was so soft and I liked that it was all natural, hypallergenic etc. Anyway, maybe 100% cotton would be better or a blend of cotton/wool? I just would've liked it to be a little lofiter. Since I'm a newbie, I would really appreciate any feedback/recommendations regarding batting or using bamboo. Anyway, it will make a great nappy bag playmat because it folds down compactly.

I added a chevron to the back using a tutorial from A Quilt is Nice. I didn't have a fun fabric for the backing and I wanted to create some interest to the boring all white homespun. Originally I was going to make two chevrons one under the other, but after making the first I realised it was larger than I expected so I ditched the second one. Also, it took a whole evening to cut and piece all the HST's so I was glad to save some time.

I hand embroidered a little label which was quite time consuming. Again, an afternoon/evening just to sew the label. I hadn't embroidered since high school and it didn't take long for me to pick it up again. (Dor is a family nickname since my middle name is Doreen).

PS Apologies for the dark photos. It's a grey, dreary day today, I'll try to get some better photos posted once the sun is out again.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Here's the first one, it just needs a little bit more quilting and then the binding. I'll then do the final reveal.

Baby Boy Quilt in Central Park

HST used to create some interest in the back

There's not very much 'boy' fabric left out of the layer cake and unfortunately a
lot of it is orange/yellow fabric which I'm not too fussed about. If
only one of the babies was a girl, I've got some pretty florals left
from the layer cake. I think I'll have to see whether I can come up
with something creative with 7 squares of fabric otherwise I'll have to
place another fabric order from Hawthorne Threads.